Home Natural farming Who compiled the first edition of the Koran. Religion. History and modernity (11). Kings who ruled undivided Israel

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Who compiled the first edition of the Koran. Religion. History and modernity (11). Kings who ruled undivided Israel

Etymology

There are several opinions about the origin of the name. According to the generally accepted version, it is derived from the verbal verb qaraʾa(قرأ), “kara’a” (“read, reading”). It is also possible that it comes from “kerian” (“reading the sacred text”, “edification”)

The Qur'an itself uses various names for the final revelation, of which the most common are:

Furqan (discrimination between good and evil, truth and falsehood, permitted and forbidden) (Quran, 25:1)
Kitab (Book) (Quran, 18:1)
Dhikr (Reminder) (Quran, 15:1)
Tanzil (Revelation) (Quran, 26:192)

The word “mushaf” refers to individual copies of the Koran.

Meaning in Islam

In Islam, the Holy Quran is the constitution that Allah sent down to His Messenger so that every person could establish a relationship with the Lord, with himself and the society in which he lives, and fulfill his life mission as the Lord of the worlds wished (Koran , 2:185). It is an eternal miracle that will not lose any of its importance and relevance until the Day of Resurrection.

He who believes in him gets rid of slavery to creation and begins a new life, since his soul seems to be born again so that he can serve the Almighty and earn His mercy.

Muslims accept this grace, adhere to the divine guidance, follow its injunctions, obey its commands, avoid its prohibitions and do not transgress its restrictions. Following the Quranic path is the key to happiness and prosperity, while moving away from it is the cause of unhappiness (Quran, 6:155).

The Quran educates Muslims in the spirit of righteousness, fear of God and good behavior

The Prophet Muhammad explained that the best of people is the one who studies the Quran and teaches other people this knowledge.

The Koran contains the basic principles and ideas of Muhammad's creed, according to Muslim tradition, which were transmitted to him by Allah himself, through the angel Gabriel. This book contains many intersections with Judaism and Christianity. Islamic theologians explain this by saying that Allah had previously conveyed his covenants to Musa and Isa, but over time these covenants began to become outdated or distorted, and only Muhammad conveyed the true faith to believers.

Researchers divide the suras into two groups - Meccan and Medina. The first group dates back to the period when Muhammad was just beginning his journey as a prophet. The second group dates back to the time when the prophet received widespread recognition and veneration. The later Medinan suras devote less attention to vague reflections on the Last Judgment and the like and concentrate more on formulating rules of conduct, assessing historical events and the like.

The text of the Qur'an is fragmentary, but not contradictory. In his book, the Almighty invites unbelievers to find contradictions in their Scripture if they are so sure of Its imperfection and untruth. Later, in addition to the Koran, oral traditions, hadiths appeared, telling about the life of the prophet. Soon after the death of Muhammad, hadith began to be collected by his followers and in the ninth century six collections were compiled, making up the so-called Sunnah.

The Koran was revealed not only to the Arabs, but also to all humanity: “We sent you only as a mercy to the inhabitants of all the worlds” (Koran, 21:107) [ affiliated source?] .

Characters of the Quran

About a quarter of the text of the Koran describes the lives of various prophets, most of whose descriptions coincide with the biblical ones. The prophets included the Old Testament patriarchs Adam, Noah, kings David and Solomon and others. The Koran also mentions kings and righteous men whose names were not mentioned in the Bible (Luqman, Dhul-Qarnayn, etc.). The last in the list of prophets is the prophet Muhammad himself and it is stated that after him there will be no other prophets. At the same time, the Koran is more consistent in its description of Jesus - he is neither God nor the son of God. Thus, the idea of monotheism is preserved to a much greater extent than in Christianity. The theological and philosophical part is also rich in borrowings from the Bible. However, all this did not harm the authority of the Koran. On the contrary, thanks to such similarities between the holy books, it was easier for the Christians conquered by the Muslims to accept the new faith.

Structure of the Quran

Surahs, with a few exceptions, are arranged in the Qur'an according to their size rather than chronologically. First there are long suras, then suras with a gradually decreasing number of verses.

The most important suras and verses of the Koran

History of the Quran

Manuscript of the Koran 7th century.

According to Islamic tradition, it is believed that the Koran came down to the world from Allah in its entirety on the night of Qadr, but the angel Gabriel transmitted it to the prophet in parts for 23 years (Koran, 17:106).

During his public activities, Muhammad made many sayings and delivered many sermons. Moreover, when he spoke on behalf of Allah, he used rhymed prose, which in ancient times was the traditional form of speech for oracles. These sayings, in which the prophet spoke on behalf of Allah, became the Koran. The rest of the sayings became part of legends. Since Muhammad himself could neither read nor write, he ordered his secretary to write down sayings on pieces of paper and bones. However, some of his sayings were preserved not thanks to the notes, but thanks to the memory of pious people. As a result, the revelations formed 114 suras or 30 pericopes. Due to the arbitrary order of the revelations, it is difficult for critics to identify them chronological order. However, there are several ways to sort them by time. For example, one reliable legend divides the suras into Meccan and Medina. However, this method does not always work, since some of the suras are made up of revelations different periods.

During the life of the prophet, there was no need for the Koran - any unclear questions could be explained by Muhammad himself. However, after his death, the rapidly spreading Islam required a clearly formulated written law, supported by the name of the prophet. In this regard, Abu Bekr and Omar ordered former secretary Prophet Zeid ibn Thabit to form an initial summary of the existing records of the words of the prophet. Quite quickly, Zeid completed his work and presented the initial version of the Koran. In parallel with him, other people were busy with the same work. Thanks to this, four more collections of Allah’s commandments appeared. Zeid was tasked with bringing all five revisions together and upon completion of this work, the original drafts were destroyed. The result of Zeid's work was recognized as the canonical version of the Koran. Legend has it that Caliph Osman himself loved to read this version, and it was this version that he was reading at the moment when he was killed by the crowd. There are even ancient manuscripts of the Koran that are said to be stained with the blood of the caliph.

Already in the first decades after the death of Muhammad, differences emerged between the followers of Islam. These followers began to be divided into the first directions and sects - Sunnis, Kharijites and Shiites. Among them, the attitude towards the canonical Koran was different. Sunnis accepted Zeid's text unconditionally. The Kharijites, who had puritanical views, began to object to the 12th sura, which tells about Joseph being sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt. From the point of view of the Kharijites, the sura too loosely described the attempts of the wife of an Egyptian nobleman to seduce Joseph. The Shiites believed that, on the orders of Osman, all passages telling about Ali and the prophet’s attitude towards him were removed from the Koran. However, all those who were dissatisfied were forced to use Zeid’s version.

As its name suggests, the Qur'an was meant to be read aloud. Over time, it turned into a whole art - the Koran had to be read like the Torah in the synagogue, recitative and chanting. Also, everyone had to remember a significant part of the text by heart. Both in the past and now there are people who remember the entire Quran by heart. Due to this, the Koran plays an important role in the matter public education, in some places being the only educational material. Since language teaching is based on it, the Arabic language is spreading along with Islam. And all literature related to Islam, regardless of its language, is full of references to the Koran.

Quran and science

Koran, 9th century

Muslim theologians claim that the Qur'an is certainly not a scientific work, but the facts mentioned in it, related to various fields of knowledge, indicate that the scientific potential of the Qur'an was many times greater than the level of knowledge that humanity had achieved at the time of the appearance of the Qur'an. This question has been and remains the object of research by scientists.

This concordism strives to harmonize the Koranic tale of peacemaking with the data of modern science. Through some, often poetic and vague, verses, proponents of this concept “predict” plate tectonics, the speed of light, etc. However, it should be emphasized that most of these verses can also describe observable facts known already at the time of the creation of the Quran or widespread theories ( for example, Galen's theory).

The most popular proponent of Qur'anic concordism is the Turkish publicist Adnan Oktar, better known by his pen name Harun Yahya. In his books, he clearly rejects the theory of evolution, thereby remaining in the position of creationism.

It is widely believed in the modern Islamic world that the Qur'an predicted many scientific theories and discoveries. Muslim preacher Idris Galyautdin in one of his books listed the names of modern scientists who converted to Islam after making another discovery and saw that it was reflected in the Koran 14 centuries ago. One of them was academician Maurice Bucaille, member of the French Medical Academy. However, such lists can be viewed with caution: contrary to what is often stated, M. Bucaille apparently was not a member of the French Academy of Medicine. Other lists also include Jacques-Yves Cousteau, although a denial of his conversion was published by his foundation back in 1991.

Studying the Quran

Sources of Qur'anic stories

The source of the stories of the Koran, according to Islam, is only the Almighty. This is indicated by many suras of the holy book: “We sent down the Koran on the night of Power” (Koran, 97:1), “If people and jinn had gathered to make something like this Koran, they would not have created something like this, even if some of them were other helpers" (Quran, 17:90).

Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad was given the Koran by the Almighty to correct the distortions that people had made in the early divine scriptures - the Torah and the Gospel. There is a final version of the Divine Law in the Qur'an (Qur'an, 2:135).

First and last chapters of the Qur'an together

Literary structure

There is a consensus among Arab scholars in using the Qur'an as the standard by which other Arabic literature is judged. Muslims claim that the Koran has no analogues in content and style.

Qur'anic sciences

Interpretation

Both the contradictions in the text of the Koran and the increased demands of the gigantic caliphate gave rise to an urgent need for constant commentary on the contents of the Koran. This process is called “tafsir” - “interpretation”, “exegesis”. This process was started by Muhammad himself, who justified contradictions in his sermons by referring to the changed will of Allah. This subsequently grew into the institution of naskh. Naskh (abrogation) was used when it was known for sure that two passages of the Koran contradict each other. In order to avoid ambiguity in the reading of the text, within the framework of naskh it was established which text should be considered true and which should be considered outdated. The first was called “nasikh”, the second was called “mansukh”. According to some sources, the Koran includes 225 such contradictions, and more than 40 sutras contain canceled verses.

In addition to the institution of naskh, tafsir also includes commenting on texts. First of all, such comments are necessary for those places that are too vague or, like the 12th sutra about Joseph, too frivolous. Interpretations of such places were given depending on the circumstances. As is often the case with ancient religious texts, references to allegories played a significant role in such interpretations. It was stated that such a text should not be interpreted literally and was only intended to demonstrate one idea or another. Also, when interpreting the Koran, materials from the hadiths of the Sunnah were often used.

The doctrine of the interpretation of the Koran began to emerge as an independent field of science in the 10th century, when, through the efforts of the famous theologian Muhammad al-Tabari and commentators of his generation, such as Ibn Abu Hatim, the early period of interpretation of the Koran was summed up.

Following them, fundamental works in this area were compiled by Ibn Abu Hatim, Ibn Majah, al-Hakim and other commentators.

The Science of Pronunciation of the Qur'an

The Arabic word "qiraat" means "readings of the Qur'an." The most famous are the 10 ways to read the Quran. Ten qurra, imams of the qiraat:

Nafi" al-Madani (died 169 AH)
Abdullah b. Kathir al-Makki (died 125 AH). But do not confuse him with Mufassir Ismail b. Kathir who died in 774 AH.
Abu Amr b. Alya al-Basri (died 154 AH)
Abdullah b. Amr al-Shami (died 118 AH)
Asim b. Abi al-Najud al-Kufi (died 127 AH)
Hamza b. Khubayb al-Kufi (died 156 AH)
Ali b. Hamza al-Kisa'i al-Kufi (died 187 AH)
Abu Ja'far Yazid b. Al-Qa'qa" al-Madani (died 130 AH)
Yakub b. Ishaq al-Hadrami al-Basri (died 205 AH)
Khalaf b. Hisham al-Basri (died 229 AH)

The book “Manarul Huda” says: “The truth is that when people from different tribes came to Muhammad, he explained the Koran in their dialect, that is, he pulled it out in one, two or three alifs, pronounced it firmly or softly.” The seven qiraats are the seven types of Arabic dialect (Lughat).

In the book “An-neshr” 1/46, Imam Ibn al-Jazari cited from Imam Abul Abbas Ahmad b. Al-Mahdani says: “Basically, residents of large cities read according to the imams: Nafi,” Ibni Kathir, Abu Amr, Asim, Ibni Amir, Hamza and Kisai. Subsequently, people began to be content with one qiraat, it even came to the point that those who read other qiraats were considered guilty, and sometimes they made takfir (accused of unbelief). But Ibni Mujahid adhered to the opinion of seven qurra and managed to convey to others the validity of the remaining qiraats. We do not know of any work where at least one qiraat was mentioned besides the seven known to us, and That’s why we say seven qiraats.”

Each of the ten qurras, regarding their type of recitation, has reliable evidence that their qiraat reaches the Messenger of Allah himself. Here are all seven authentic (sahih) qiraats:

In culture

Page from the Koran

Translations

Quran with Persian translation

Theologians believe that the translation of the meanings of the Koran should be based on reliable hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad, comply with the principles of the Arabic language and the generally accepted provisions of the Muslim Sharia. Some believed that when publishing a translation it is obligatory to indicate that it is a simple explanation of the meanings of the Koran. The translation cannot serve as a substitute for the Koran during prayers.

Experts divide the translations of the Koran into two large groups: literal and semantic. Due to the complexity of translation from Arabic into other languages (in particular, into Russian) and the ambiguity of interpretation of many words and phrases, semantic translations are considered the most preferable. However, you need to understand that the interpreter can make mistakes, just like the author of the translation.

Koran in Russia

Main article: Koran in Russia

The first translation of the Koran was published by order of Peter I in 1716. This translation has long been attributed to P. V. Postnikov, but recent archival research has shown that the translation actually made by Postnikov remains in two manuscripts, one of which is marked with his name, and the translation printed in 1716 has nothing in common with that belonging to Postnikov and much worse in quality, it has to be considered anonymous. IN modern Russia the most popular translations of four authors are the translations of I. Yu. Krachkovsky, V. M. Porokhova, M.-N. O. Osmanov and E. R. Kuliev. Over the last three centuries, more than a dozen translations of the Koran and tafsirs have been written in Russia.

Translations of the Koran and tafsirs

Year	Author	Name	Notes
1716	author unknown	"Alkoran about Mohammed, or Turkish Law"	This translation was made from a translation by the French diplomat and orientalist André du Rieux.
1790	Verevkin M. I.	“The Book of Al-Koran of the Arabian Mohammed...”
1792	Kolmakov A.V.	"Al-Koran Magomedov..."	This translation was made from the English translation by J. Sale.
1859	Kazembek A.K.	"Miftah Qunuz al-Quran"
1864	Nikolaev K.	"Koran of Magomed"	Was taken as a basis French translation A. Bibirstein-Kazimirsky.
1871	Boguslavsky D. N.	"Koran"	The first translation made by an orientalist.
1873	Sablukov G. S.	"The Koran, the legislative book of the Mohammedan creed"	Created by an orientalist and missionary. It was reprinted several times, including with parallel Arabic text.
1963	Krachkovsky I. Yu.	"Koran"	The translation with comments by Krachkovsky in Russia is considered academic due to its high scientific significance, since Ignatius Yulianovich approached the Koran as a literary monument that reflected the socio-political situation of Arabia during the time of Muhammad. Reprinted many times.
1995	Shumovsky T. A.	"Koran"	The first translation of the Koran from Arabic into Russian is in verse. Written by a student of Ignatius Krachkovsky, candidate of philological and doctor of historical sciences, Arabist Theodor Shumovsky. Distinctive feature This translation is that the Arabic forms of the names of Quranic characters (Ibrahim, Musa, Harun) are replaced with generally accepted ones (Abraham, Moses, Aaron, etc.).
	Porokhova V. M.	"Koran"
1995	Osmanov M.-N. ABOUT.	"Koran"
1998	Ushakov V.D.	"Koran"
2002	Kuliev E. R.	"Koran"
2003	Shidfar B. Ya.	"Al-Quran - translations and tafsir"
	Al-Azhar University	Al-Muntahab "Tafsir Al-Quran"
	Abu Adel	“The Koran, translation of the meaning of the verses and their brief interpretation”
2011	Alyautdinov Sh. R.	"Holy Quran. Meanings"	Translation of the meanings of the Koran in the context of modern times beginning of the XXI century and from the point of view of that part of the people who speak and think in Russian. This translation of the meanings of the Holy Quran is the first theological translation in Russian.

Overall evaluation of translations

It is worth noting that when translating or conveying meanings into Russian, as is the case with any attempt to translate the Holy Scriptures, it was not possible to avoid inaccuracies and errors, including gross ones, since much depends on the taste and ideological views of the translator, his upbringing, cultural environment, as well as from insufficient familiarity with the multitude of surviving sources and approaches of various scientific and theological schools. In addition, there is a different attitude of the Muslim community towards the possibility of translating the Qur'an from a sharply negative one, caused both by fears of misunderstanding by the translator of the text due to insufficient educational level, and by an emphasis on the exceptional truth of the Arabic original, to generally benevolent, understanding the linguistic differences of the peoples of the world and a desire to emphasize that Islam is not exclusively an ethnic religion of Arabs. That is why there is still not a single translation that would be unambiguously defined as exemplary and classic. Although some Muslim theologians even draw up memos that explain all the requirements that a translator and interpreter must meet. And a number of authors devoted their works to the presentation and understanding of errors in translations of the Koran into Russian. For example, Elmir Kuliev devoted one of the chapters of his book “On the Way to the Koran” to a serious analysis of errors and inaccuracies in translations from distortions of meaning individual concepts to ideological issues when transmitting a text by one translator or another.

Notes

Rezvan E.A. Mirror of the Koran // “Star” 2008, No. 11
Olga Bibikova Quran // Encyclopedia Around the World (P.1, P.2, P.3, P.4, P.5, P.6)
Chapter 58 Koran, tradition and fiction // Illustrated history of religions in 2 vols. / Ed. Prof. D. L. Chantepie de la Saussey. Ed. 2nd. M.: ed. Department of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery, 1992. Vol. 1 ISBN 5-7302-0783-2
Ignatenko A. A. About Islam and the normative deficiency of the Koran // Otechestvennye zapiski, 2008. - No. 4 (43). - pp. 218-236
Rezvan E. A. al-KUR'AN // Islam: An Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.: The science, 1991 . - P.141.
Abd ar-Rahman al-Saadi. Taysir al-Karim al-Rahman. P. 708
Ali-zade A.A. Koran // Islamic encyclopedic dictionary. - M.: Ansar, 2007. - P.377 - 392(copy of the book)
Ibn Hajar. Fath al-Bari. T.9, P.93.
Chapter 9 Islam: theory and practice] (Koran, Contents of the Koran, Interpretation of the Koran (Tafsir))//L. S. Vasiliev. History of the Religions of the East. - M.: Book house "University", 2000 ISBN 5-8013-0103-8
Aya. Religion: Encyclopedia / comp. and general ed. A.A. Gritsanov, G.V. Blue. - Minsk: Book House, 2007. - 960 pp. - (World of Encyclopedias).. Archived
What does "Manzil" mean?
P. A. Gryaznevich Koran. Great Soviet Encyclopedia: In 30 volumes - M.: " Soviet encyclopedia", 1969-1978. . Archived from the original on May 30, 2012.
Kitab as-sunan Abu Dawud, volume 1. p. 383
M. Yakubovich."The Qur'an and modern science".
Harun Yahya"The Collapse of the Theory of Evolution".
Ahmad Dallal"Encyclopedia of the Qur'an", "The Qur'an and Science".
Idris Galyautdin."Famous people who converted to Islam." - Kazan, 2006.
An official letter from the Cousteau Foundation states: “We absolutely state that Commander Cousteau did not become a Mohammedan and the rumors circulating have no basis.”- Témoignage: La “conversion” du commandant Cousteau à l’Islam
Science "qiraat"
Muhsin S. Mahdi, Fazlur Rahman, Annemarie Schimmel Islam.// Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008.
An international competition for reading the Koran has begun in Kuwait //AhlylBaytNewsAgency, 04/14/2011
The XI international competition of Koran reciters will be held in Moscow // ANSAR Information and Analytical Channel, 10/22/2010.
Ukrainian hafiz will represent the country at several international competitions in reading the Koran // Information and analytical project “Islam in Ukraine”, 08.26.2009
Koran recitation competition in the Islamic Republic of Iran // Information and educational portal MuslimEdu.ru., October 12, 2010.

Russia is a multinational state. This determines a large number of religions that are officially registered on the territory of the Russian Federation. Due to ignorance of basic things about other religions and the Holy Scriptures, problems often arise. conflict situations. This situation can be resolved. In particular, you should familiarize yourself with the answer to the question: “What is the Koran?”

The word "Koran" is of Arabic origin. Translated into Russian it means “recitative”, “reading aloud”. The Koran is the main book of Muslims, which, according to legend, is a copy of the Holy Scriptures - the first book, which is kept in heaven.

Before answering the question of what the Koran is, a few words should be said about the origin of Scripture. The text of the main book of Muslims was sent to Muhammad through an intermediary - Jebrail - by Allah himself. During the secular period, Muhammad recorded only individual notes. After his death, the question arose about the creation of the Holy Scriptures.

Muhammad's followers reproduced his sermons by heart, which were later compiled into a single book - the Koran. What is the Koran? First of all official document Muslims written in Arabic. It is believed that the Koran is an uncreated book that will exist forever, like Allah.

Who recorded the Koran?

According to historical data, Muhammad could not read or write. That is why he memorized the Revelations received from Allah, and then pronounced them out loud to his followers. They, in turn, learned the messages by heart. For more accurate transmission Sacred texts followers used improvised means to record revelations: some resorted to parchment, others to wooden tablets or pieces of leather.

However, the most proven way to preserve the meaning of Scripture was to retell it to specially trained readers who could remember long sunnahs - verses. The Hafiz subsequently accurately conveyed the Revelations told to them, despite the stylistic complexity of the fragments of the Koran.

The sources record about 40 people who were involved in writing Revelations. However, during the life of Muhammad, the suras were few known and practically unclaimed. This is due to the fact that there was no need for a single Holy Scripture. The first copy of the Koran created after the death of the Prophet was kept by his wife and daughter.

Structure of the Quran

The holy book of Muslims consists of 114 chapters, fragments, which are called “sura”. Al-Fatiha - the first sura - opens the Koran. It is a prayer of 7 verses, which is read by all believers. Contents of the prayer - summary essence of the Koran. That is why believers say it every time, performing five prayers daily.

The remaining 113 chapters of the Quran are arranged in Scripture in descending order, from greatest to least. At first, the suras are large in volume and are real treatises. At the end of the book, the fragments consist of several verses.

Thus, we can answer the question: What is the Koran? This is a clearly structured religious book, having two periods: Meccan and Medina, each of which symbolizes a certain stage in the life of Muhammad.

In what language is the Muslim Holy Book written?

As noted above, the recognized language of the Quran is Arabic. However, to understand the essence of Scripture, the book may be translated into other languages. But in this case, we should talk about the subjective transmission of the meaning of Holy Scripture by a translator who was able to convey his own interpretation to the readers. In other words, the Koran in Russian is only a kind of Holy Scripture. The only one the right option Only the Koran, written in Arabic, which appeared on earth by the will of Allah, is considered.

The Koran in Russian has its place, but any righteous believer must come to read the scripture in the source language.

The style in which the Qur'an is written

It is believed that the style in which the Koran is presented is unique, unlike neither the Old nor the New Testaments. Reading the Quran reveals sharp transitions from first-person to third-person narration and vice versa. In addition, in the suras, believers can encounter various rhythmic patterns, which complicates the study of the message, but gives it uniqueness, leads to a change in topic, and also gives a small hint at the revelation of secrets in the future.

The passages of suras that have a complete thought are mostly rhymed, but do not constitute poetry. It is impossible to classify fragments of the Koran as prose. While reading the Holy Scriptures in Arabic or Russian, a large number of images and situations arise that are reflected through the intonation and meaning of phrases.

The Qur'an is not just a book. This is the Holy Scripture for all Muslims living on Earth, which incorporates the basic rules of life for righteous believers.

Russia is a multinational state. This determines the large number of religions that are officially registered on the territory of the Russian Federation. Due to ignorance of basic things about other religions and the Holy Scriptures, such situations can often be resolved. In particular, you should familiarize yourself with the answer to the question: “What is the Koran?”

What is the essence of the Quran?

Muhammad's followers reproduced his sermons by heart, which were later compiled into a single book - the Koran. What is the Koran? First of all, an official document of Muslims written in Arabic. It is believed that the Koran is an uncreated book that will exist forever, like Allah.

Who recorded the Koran?

According to historical data, Muhammad could not read or write. That is why he memorized the Revelations received from Allah, and then pronounced them out loud to his followers. They, in turn, learned the messages by heart. For a more accurate transmission of the Sacred texts, followers used improvised means to record revelations: some resorted to parchment, others to wooden tablets or pieces of leather.

Structure of the Quran

The holy book of Muslims consists of 114 chapters, fragments, which are called “sura”. Al-Fatiha - the first sura - opens the Koran. It is a prayer of 7 verses, which is read by all believers. The content of the prayer is a summary of the essence of the Quran. That is why believers say it every time, performing five prayers daily.

In what language is the Muslim Holy Book written?

As noted above, the recognized language of the Quran is Arabic. However, to understand the essence of Scripture, the book may be translated into other languages. But in this case, we should talk about the subjective transmission of the meaning of Holy Scripture by a translator who was able to convey his own interpretation to the readers. In other words, the Koran in Russian is only a kind of Holy Scripture. The only correct option is considered to be the Koran, written in Arabic, which appeared on earth by the will of Allah.

The Koran in Russian has its place, but any righteous believer must come to read the scripture in the source language.

The style in which the Qur'an is written

It is believed that the style in which the Qur'an is presented is unique, unlike either the Old One, or the Reading of the Qur'an reveals sharp transitions from the narration from the first person to the third and vice versa. In addition, in the suras, believers can encounter various rhythmic patterns, which complicates the study of the message, but gives it uniqueness, leads to a change in topic, and also gives a small hint at the revelation of secrets in the future.

The Quran is not just a book. This is the Holy Scripture for all Muslims living on Earth, which incorporates the basic rules of life for righteous believers.

An ancient hand scripted Quran

The Koran is the holy book of Muslims, a collection of revelations sent by Allah to Muhammad from above, the basis of Muslim doctrine. Based on the basic provisions of the Koran, social, economic, political, legal and family relations are built in Islam. The Quran was revealed in Arabic. The Qur'an is a book containing more than 500 pages of text and 114 chapters (surahs). Significant portions of the text of the Quran are rhymed prose.

According to the doctrine of Islam, the Koran is an uncreated book, existing forever, like Allah himself, it is his word. Judging by the data of the Muslim tradition, the revelations of Allah were transmitted to the Prophet Muhammad around the years 610-632, and their recording, collection and compilation of the book lasted for many years. And for almost 14 centuries this book has lived and retained its significance not only as a religious, but also as a historical and literary monument. In countries where Islam is the state religion, many sources come from the Koran. legal acts, they swear an oath on the Koran, take an oath. The study of the Koran and its interpretations (tafsir) is one of the main subjects of religious educational institutions in a number of countries.

What does the word “Koran” mean?

The title of the Muslim holy book is usually translated as "reading". But this does not mean reading in the literal sense of the word. After all, Muhammad read his sermons not from a written text, but from memory. In addition, Muhammad delivered his sermons rhythmically, as if reciting them. The word “Quran” is often used with the article “al” - “Al-Quran”, which means a holy book, which, like the Bible, the Torah, is intended to be read aloud, by heart. According to Muslim tradition, the Koran cannot be translated into other languages. Muslims whose native language is not Arabic memorize the most important parts of the Qur'an. Reading or listening to the Koran in Arabic means for a Muslim to listen to the speech of God himself.

The famous scientist, orientalist, translator of the Koran into Russian I. Yu. Krachkovsky writes that the Koran is very difficult to understand, many manifestations spiritual world people of that era were forever lost to our time. Since translating and printing the Koran into other languages was forbidden, therefore for a very long time the Koran was only copied.

Being illiterate, Muhammad did not write down his sermons, but many of his followers memorized them because they were similar to poetry. Those who knew the entire Koran by heart were called hafiz. However, some passages of the Koran were written down by literate Arabs on palm leaves, parchment, flat bones, and clay tablets. Part of the holy book was written down by Muhammad's personal scribe, Zayd ibn Thabit.

After the death of the prophet, the first caliph, friend and relative Abu Bakr, decided to collect all the texts and compile a collection of Muhammad's sermons. The first version of the Koran (Suhuf) appeared, but the final book of the prophet, prepared under Caliph Uthman, was called “Mushaf” and was canonized. This book was large sizes and written on parchment. Several copies were made of the Mushaf, one of which is kept in the Kaaba next to the “black stone”. Another copy of the Koran is kept in Medina, in the courtyard of the Prophet's Mosque. Two more original copies of the Qur'an are believed to have survived: one is in Cairo, in Egypt. national library, the other is in Tashkent.

The Koran for Muslims is a guide to action and life. It is addressed to Muslims and gives them advice on how to live, work, and relate to people. The Koran is a guide in which a Muslim finds answers to many questions that interest him. Being predominantly a religious-philosophical work and a legislative book. The Koran is a unique historical and literary work, by reading which we learn about the geographical features of the Arabian Peninsula, about the life and way of life, the activities of the Arabs, historical events that era. In the Koran you can read about the moral culture of Muslims, their behavior, and relationships. Dwelling on the contents of the Koran, we note that in the sermons of Muhammad there are various stories- traditions, myths, legends of Arab tribes. The fight against polytheism, the establishment of monotheism, that is, the unity of God, - main idea Koran. The Koran presents some religious information about the immortality of the soul, about heaven and hell, about the end of the world, about the Day of Judgment, about the creation of the world and man, about the fall of the first people - Adam and Eve, about the global flood and others.

A distinctive feature of the Koran is that Allah speaks in it in the first person - this is the first and most significant difference between the Koran and the Torah and the Gospel. Most of the Koran is a dialogue between Allah and people, but always through Muhammad, through his lips. Since the Koran is a difficult work to understand, there are different interpretations of it. The most authoritative scholars were and still are allowed to interpret the Koran; it is unacceptable to distort the meaning of a single verse of the Koran. Unfortunately, these days we see how different terrorist organizations and sects, interpreting and distorting the meaning of the Koran in their own way, call on illiterate people to war and to commit all kinds of crimes against humanity.

Just as surprising and attractive in the Quran is the imagery of presentation, emotionality, richness poetic devices and vocabulary. The verses of the Koran worried many famous scientists and poets. The great Russian poet A. S. Pushkin wrote about the role of the Koran:

The list is given from the heavenly book

You, prophet, are not for the obstinate:

Calmly proclaim the Quran,

Without forcing the wicked!

And the great Tatar poet G. Tukay noted: “The Koran is a true stronghold.” Let us remember the words of B. Pasternak regarding the Bible, but they are surprisingly applicable to the Koran: “... this is not so much a book with hard text as a notebook for humanity.” The texts of the Koran are ancient, but ageless, accepted by past generations and awaiting acceptance by future generations, feeding followers of Islam, scientists, and poets with living thought...

This is interesting:

English Islamic scholar William Watt writes: “When Arab studies, Arab thought, Arab writings are presented in full, it becomes clear that without the Arabs, European science and philosophy could not have developed at such a pace. The Arabs were not just transmitters, but also genuine carriers of Greek thought. The Europeans had to learn everything they could from the Arabs before they could move forward." (L. I. Klimovich “Book about the Koran, its origin and mythology.” - M., 1986)

Chapter 10

SACRED TEXTS OF ISLAM

(Study and translations of the Qur'an)

The Koran is the book of books of Islam. According to sacred tradition, the original of the Koran, written in Arabic, is with Allah in heaven. Allah sent down the Koran to his Prophet Muhammad through the angel Jabrail (biblical Gabriel) The name “Koran” comes from the Arabic verb “kara “a”, i.e. read recitative The book is a collection of sermons and teachings of Muhammad, with which he addressed his listeners on behalf of God for almost a quarter of a century (610-632).

The Koran was created in the living flow of life, under the influence and in relation to specific events. Hence the inimitable, free form of the monument. It is devoid of a single composition, a storyline, so characteristic of every literary work. Direct speech (the speech of Allah), addressed either directly to Muhammad himself or to the listeners, is replaced by a third-person narration. Brief rhythmic phrases, the rhyming of most verses (signs-revelations) create a complex example of artistic style and form.
poetic speech, very close to folklore.
During Muhammad's lifetime, the creed was created, updated and spread through oral tradition. The desire to preserve the Koran in written form arose soon after the death of the prophet. Already under the first caliph Adu-Bakr (632-634), work began on compiling a written text of Muhammad's sermons. By order of the third caliph Osman (644-654), a set of these sermons was written down, subsequently canonized and called “Ko-

Ran Osman." The process of improving writing continued for more than two centuries and was largely completed at the end of the 9th century.
The Qur'an consists of 14 sections, or chapters, called suras. Surahs, in turn, consist of verses, or verses. Based on their place of origin, suras are divided into Meccan and Medina. Within the boundaries of the Meccan cycle (610-622), three periods are distinguished. The earliest (610-616) is called poetic. It is presented short suras, which often resemble peculiar hymns. They provide a concise and extremely figurative presentation of the dogma of monotheism, pictures of the Day of Judgment, and the hellish torments of sinners. The second period (617-619) was called the Rakhman, or teacher's period. Here the tonality of the suras is noticeably softened. They become more extensive, and the plots become more detailed. The first narrative texts—legends—appear. The third period (620-622) is prophetic. Narrative texts often contain retelling Bible stories and legends about the ancient prophets. They are distinguished by the sequence of presentation of events.
The second large cycle is a meeting Medina suras(623-632). They are characterized by a wide overlap with biblical stories. At the same time, the sermons are becoming more and more detailed. A significant place in them is occupied by rules and regulations governing the life of believers. Muhammad increasingly acts as a legislator and judge. Within the cycle there are five periods associated with major events in life religious community(military battles, etc.), which served as a kind of impulse for Muhammad’s religious creativity. If at the beginning of his work he acted mainly as a poet-prophet, then in subsequent periods he acted as a religious teacher, legislator, judge, and leader of a mass community.
The main idea of the Koran is the overcoming of paganism and the establishment of monotheism. Allah, unlike the Christian three-hypostatic God, is consubstantial. Muhammad did not resurrect

Rice. The veil covering the entrance to the Kaaba sanctuary. Lines from the Koran are embroidered in gold

He accepted neither the Jewish idea of the Messiah nor the Christian idea of the Savior. He was concerned not so much with the problem of posthumous retribution as with the creation of a just society on earth. Muhammad viewed Judaism and Christianity, we emphasize once again, as the result of people’s misunderstanding of the revelations of God and the teachings of the first prophets. He considered himself as the last prophet, which is called upon to correct the faith of people. That is why it is called the “seal of the prophets” in the Koran.
In a broad cultural and historical aspect, the Koran contains the ideals of social order as they were seen by Muhammad as an exponent of the progressive sentiments of a certain era. In this sense, the book reflects the entire spectrum social relations in Arab society at the turn of the VI-VII centuries. These are, first of all, relations of slavery, but specific, patriarchal (domestic) slavery, significantly softened in comparison with the slavery of the ancient world, as well as tribal relations. In particular, the customs of blood feud and mutual assistance are sanctified by the authority of Allah. However, they are interpreted as customs not of a tribal community, but of a religious community, i.e. community not by kinship, but by faith. Commodity-money relations are also reflected in the Koran. Many verses sound like codes of commercial honor, instructions for drawing up contracts. The book also touches on the forms of early feudal relations (tribute system, sharecropping).
In terms of their general humanistic origin, the new forms of human society, sanctified by Islam, were much higher than those inherent in paganism. For example, in comparison with previous norms of attitude towards women, the commandments of the Koran turned out to be more progressive. A man has the right to maintain no more than four wives, while previously this number was not limited. Rules have been introduced to limit the husband's willfulness. A woman's right to part of the property in the event of divorce or death of her husband is carefully regulated. However, in general, a Muslim woman occupies a purely subordinate position in society and in the home. Muhammad's democracy turned out to be, although superior to its time, still significantly limited from the point of view of historical progress.
The canonical texts of Islam are not limited to the Koran. The Sunnah is important. It is a collection of hadiths - stories, legends about what Muhammad said and how he acted in certain cases. The example of the life of the prophet thus serves as a model and guide for all Muslims. The emergence of the Sunnah was due to the fact that as society developed, questions increasingly arose that were not answered in the Quran. They used stories passed down orally by Muhammad's companions about his actions and sayings on various occasions. The result of recording and systematizing these stories was the Sunnah. There are different collections of hadiths between Sunnis and Shiites. Among Sunnis, the Sunnah includes six collections. The collections of the famous theologian are recognized as the most authoritative

Bukhari (810-870) and his student Muslim (817-875).
The Koran remains the main book of Islam today. It is taught and studied in various educational institutions in Muslim countries. There are countless volumes of Quranic commentaries accumulated over more than a thousand years of Islamic history. The traditional profession of reciters (reciters) of the Koran is still alive today. It is taught from a young age. This is truly great art, because we're talking about not just about reading, but about chanting. The profession enjoys great honor and respect.
Ideas and images of the Koran are widely used in literature, and sonorous formulas and expressions are used in everyday speech. The texts of many verses still retain their meaning as motifs decorative elements V fine arts, architecture.

The Koran, according to Muslims, is a book inspired by God and cannot be translated into other languages. Therefore, true believers use the Koran only in Arabic. IN Muslim countries There is a huge literature, mostly theological, devoted to the study and interpretation of the main book of Islam. However, the meaning of the Koran has long gone beyond just a religious source. As an outstanding historical and cultural monument of Arab civilization and humanity in general, it attracts great attention from scientists from various countries and ideological orientations. We will limit ourselves here only to Europe.
The history of the study of Islam and the Koran in the countries of European civilization is dramatic in its own way. For more than a millennium, Christian Europe did not recognize Islam as an independent religion equal in rank to Christianity. Beginning with the Byzantine theologian John of Damascus (8th century), the ideologists of the Christian Church have developed a tradition of refute the basic postulates of Islam. In the minds of medieval Europeans, the image of Islam was formed as the devilish law of the Saracens, and Muhammad as a false prophet who perverted the biblical commandments and teachings. Only since the 19th century. The desire to objectively understand Islam is gradually taking shape and strengthening, mainly among the intellectual elite, by studying it for what it really is - an original phenomenon of religious life.
This general attitude towards Islam determines the rather late appearance of translations of the Koran into European languages. Modern Arabists usually trace the history of its translations back to the 12th century, when Europe was preparing for the Second Crusade.

I guess. Around 1142, on the personal initiative of Abbot Peter the Venerable (1092-1156), Latin translation Koran. However, by order of the Pope Alexandra III it was publicly burned as a heretical book.
Another early Latin translation was made at the beginning of the 13th century, but remained unpublished. These early translations were transpositions of the text of the Koran and were intended to prove the inconsistency of Muslim claims to possession of the holy scripture.
The first official publication of the Latin translation was carried out only in 1543 in Basel (Switzerland). He followed him out Italian translation(1547), a century later - French (1649). But even then Catholic Church has not changed her attitude towards the main book of Islam. The Council of Roman Censors under Pope Alexander VII (1655-1667) banned its publication and translation.

Rice. Edition of the Koran in Russian. 1995

Nevertheless, interest in the Koran did not die, and the needs of the ideological struggle against Islam prompted its study. In 1698, a fundamental work, “Refutation of the Koran,” appeared in Padua. It contained Arabic text, a Latin translation of the source and carefully selected extracts from the works of Arab commentators and theologians. This publication greatly accelerated the emergence of new, more objective editions and translations of the Koran. During the XIII-XIX centuries. Several of its editions were published: in English (translated by J. Sale, 1734), German (translated by Fr. Baizen, 1773), French (translated by A. Kazimirsky, 1864). All of them, with the exception of the first, are usually classified as interlinear. But already in the 20th century. semantic translations have developed. According to experts, the best results in this regard were achieved by M. Ali, M. Assad, Maududi (at English language), R. Blacher (in French). European scholars are credited with interpreting the Koran as the original work of Muhammad.
In Russia, the first written mentions of Islam date back to the 11th century, and they appear in translations of Greek chronicles and Christian polemical works. Needless to say, these ideas about Islam were anti-Muslim in nature. For many centuries Russian Orthodoxy walked in the wake of Byzantine theology.

The origins of the new and, so to speak, secular interest in Islam and the Koran go back to the era of Peter I. Back at the end of the 17th century. Essays on the Koran were prepared in Russian especially for princes Peter and Ivan. Russia wanted to turn not only to Europe, but also to the Muslim East. Peter put acquaintance with the Islamic East on state basis. On his initiative, the study began oriental languages, a special institution was organized for the collection and storage of monuments of written and material culture of the peoples of the East. Later, the Asian Museum arose on its basis. By order of Peter, the first Russian translation of the Koran (from French) was carried out. It was published in 1716.
In 1787, the complete Arabic text of the Koran was published in Russia for the first time. For this purpose, an Arabic font was specially cast, reproducing the handwriting of one of the most famous Muslim calligraphers of that time. During the 17th century. book ran into five editions. In general, texts of the Koran translated from French and English were distributed in Russia. Translation by M.I. Verevkin, executed from French in 1790, inspired A. S. Pushkin for the famous poetic cycle “Imitation of the Koran”. With all their shortcomings, these translations stimulated the interest of Russian educated society in Islam and its main book. In this regard, it is impossible not to mention P.Ya. Chaadaeva. He showed deep interest in Islam and considered it as one of the stages in the formation of the universal religion of Revelation.
In the 70s XIX century the beginning was laid for Russian translations of the Koran from Arabic. The first belonged to D. N. Boguslavsky (1828-1893), an educated Arabist, long time who served as a translator at the Russian embassy in Istanbul. He apparently expected to publish his work upon returning to Russia, but this did not happen, since by this time a similar translation had appeared in the country, completed by G. S. Sablukov.
G. S. Sablukov (1804-1880) - Kazan orientalist and missionary. His translation was published in 1877 and reprinted in 1894 and 1907. He also published “Appendices” (1879) - perhaps the best index to the Koran in Europe at that time. The translation by G. S. Sablukov was destined long life. For almost a century, it satisfied the interests of science and the various needs of Russian cultural society. It still retains its significance today, although it is partly outdated.
The period of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. is significant in that the foundations of Russian Islamic studies are laid as an independent scientific direction of national and world level. In 1896, a biography of Muhammad was published, written by the Russian philosopher and poet B. S. Solovyov (“Mohammed, his life and religious teachings”). This book, which transcends the traditions of anti-Muslim polemicism, is an example of sympathetic insight.

Niya of a person of a different culture in inner world founder of Islam.
At the beginning of the 20th century. In connection with the rapid development of science and technology, it becomes possible to become more familiar with the monuments of Islamic culture. At this time, printing houses for the publication of Muslim literature were operating in eight cities of Russia. They publish the Koran in the original language in large quantities. The first attempts are being made to translate it into national languages Russia (published in 1914 Tatar translation). Specials are starting to appear regularly periodicals scientific and cultural purposes (magazine "World of Islam", almanac "Oriental Collection"). Samples of Muslim literature are included in various publications on the history of world literature.
Since October 1917, there has been a period in the history of Islamic studies new period. Not everything here contributed to progress. An objective study of Islam was complicated by political conflicts - the negative attitude of the clergy towards Soviet power, ideological intolerance of Bolshevism towards religion, political terror against the Church. However, the development of Islamic studies did not stop. V.V. Bartold's book "Islam", published in 1918, is to this day a profound scientific exposition of the history and essence of this religion.
In the 20s a new attempt to translate the Koran from Arabic into Russian is being made by I. Yu. Krachkovsky (1883-1951). He developed new system studying and translating this outstanding monument of world culture. The working translation was completed mainly by 1931, but the scientist continued to improve it for a long time, was engaged in literary processing, and composing a commentary, but did not manage to complete his work. The translation in the first edition was published in 1963, in the second - in 1986. This was the first scientific translation of the Qur'an into Russian, and almost all modern editions of this monument are made mainly from it, for example, the chapter-by-chapter publication of the Qur'an with comments by M. Usma- new in the magazine "Star of the East" (1990-1991).
Of scientific and cultural interest is the translation of the Koran undertaken by N. Osmanov, which was published in the Pamir magazine in 1990-1992. Recently, V. Porokhova’s book “The Koran. Translations of Meanings” has become famous. Departing from scientific accuracy and often modernizing the meaning of the verses, the translator achieves a subtle reproduction of the poetic beauty of the Koran. Its translation enhances the philosophical and poetic sound of the monument [See: Islam. Historiographical essays. Section I. Koran and Koranic studies. - M., 1991].
The school of Russian and Soviet Arabists includes many major names. In addition to V.V. Bartold and I.Yu. Krachkovsky, one can name B.A. Belyaev, V.N. Vinnikov, A. E. Krymsky, K. S. Kashtalev, A. E. Schmidt, L. I. Klimovich, M. B. Piotrovsky, V. R. Rosen. IN lately publication of literature on Islam is noticeable

Increased. In 1991, the first encyclopedic dictionary “Islam” created in our country was published. Let us note the detailed and first Soviet time a biography of Muhammad, written in the style of the famous series “The Life of Remarkable People” [Panova V.F., Bakhtin Yu.B. The Life of Muhammad. - M., 1990].
But in general, Islam and the Koran certainly deserve deeper study. In the West, for example, the multi-volume Encyclopedia of Islam has long existed. Our country has been and remains predominantly Christian-Muslim in its religious character. This unique feature cannot be ignored. The formation and development of a humane and democratic society, the creation of conditions for the free spiritual development of all citizens is unthinkable without mastering the thousand-year-old traditions of Christian and Islamic culture and its humanistic content.

Control questions

1. How was the Koran, the holy book of Muslims, created? What is it and what is its main purpose?
2. Tell us, what is the significance of the Sunnah for Muslims?
3. What was the attitude towards Islam in European countries in the Middle Ages?
4. When and for what reason in Western Europe Are you interested in the Muslim religion and the Koran?
5. In what direction has the attitude towards Islam as a religion evolved in the Russian state?
6. When was the complete Arabic text of the Koran published in Russia?
7. What influence did translations of the Koran have on the spiritual development and culture of Russian society?